Henry brunn and frank longtin



(No Model.)

H. BRUNN 85 P. LONGTIN. DRAFT GEAR FOR VEHIGLBS..

No. 599,033. Patented Feb. 15, 1898.

- riage-gear above the front springs.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BRUNN AND FRANK LoNeTIN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK; SAID LoNeriNASSIGNOR TO SAID BRUNN.

DRAFT-GEAR. FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of rates Patent No. 599,033, dated Febaar 15,1898. I Application filed September 16 1897; Serial No. 651,869. (Nomodel.)

springs with a straight pole which is rigidly secured to the axle andwhich can be inserted and removed like an ordinary carriage-pole.

Heretofore it has been common to connect the pole rigidly with theplatform of a car- In vehicles of this kind the pole moves bodily up anddown with the body of the carriage on the springs, which is severe onthe horses, especially on rough roads.

One object of our invention is to secure the pole rigidly to the frontaxle, so that it does not move up and down with the vehicle-body,

. and to so construct the means of attachment that an ordinarysubstantially straight pole can be used.

Another object of the invention is to connect the splinter or whifflebar with the front axle by attachments which are light and neat inappearance and at the same time strong and secure.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of ourimproved draft-gear, partly in section, the plane of section beingindicated-by the line 1-1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of thedraft-gear, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal verticalsection in line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of thedraft-irons. Fig. 5 is perspective view of the pole-socket.

Like letters of reference referto like parts in the severalfigures.

A represents the front axle of a buggy or other three-spring or reachvehicle; B, the front bolster arranged over front axle; O, thefifth-wheel arranged between these parts, and a the king-bolt whichconnects the same.

D represents the reach, which is secured with its front end to thefifth-wheel and bolster.

E represents an elliptic front spring which is secured upon the bolster.

F represents the transverse splinter or whiffle bar, which is arrangedin front of the axle and bolster and parallel with the former. Thisdraft-bar is provided with studs f .or other suitable means forattaching the traces, and it is rigidly secured to the axle bylongitudinal draft or side irons G. Each of these draft-irons consistsof a vertical elongated loop, which is composed of an upper longitudinalbar g, a lower longitudinal bar g,united at its front end to the upperbar, and a semicircular or curved rear portion 9 carries at its frontend a socket h, which receives a tongue h, projecting rearwardly fromthe splinter-bar F. This tongue is detachably secured in the socket by abolt or otherwise, so that the splinter-bar can be detached, if itshould be desired to use a pair of thills instead of a pole. The lowerbar 9 of each loop is provided underneath the front axle with aflattened portion, as shown in Fig. 4, which is rigidly secured totheunder side of the axle by a clip 1., the axle passing transverselythrough each loop. A side brace g is united at its front end to thelower loopbar g and is secured with its flattened rear end to the underside of the axle by a clip '6. A step g is preferably welded to thecurved rear portion of the loop. As the loop is rigidly secured with itslower bar or member to the axle, it supports the splinter-bar not onlyby the lower member but also by the upper This loop member, whichextends from the point of attachment below the axle rearwardly andupwardly and then forwardly over the axle to the front end of the loop.This forms a very strong support for the splinter-bar and permits themembers of the loop to be made light and sightly.

J represents the strap or loop, which is secured to the under side ofthe splinter-bar F for supporting the draft-pole K. This strap isprovided with a rearwardly-projecting earj,

which is arranged above the pole and through which passes the pin j,which holds the pole in place.

L represents the socket, which receives the rear end of the pole. Thissocket is arranged above the front axle and in front of the same anddirectlyin rear of the strap on the splinterbar, so that an ordinarystraight pole can be inserted into the strap and socket. This socket isrigidly connected with the axle by two arms Z, which diverge from thesocket downwardly and rearwardly and which are secured with their lowerends to the under side of the axle by clips m. This socket is preferablyfurther supported by a central brace 17., which extends from the socketrearwardly and which is connected at its rear end with the king-bolt.This brace rests with its rear end upon the strap 0, which is secured tothe reach and bolster and holds the lower part of the front spring E,and the upper part of the king-bolt passes through this spring andthrough the brace, the latter having at its rear end a boss, as shown inFig. 5, whichis seated in the front portion of the strap 0, as shown inFig. 3, whereby the strain on the king-bolt is greatly reduced.

The pole-socket is rigidly secured to the front axle by its arms andbrace in such a posiition that an ordinary straight pole can be use Weare aware of Patent No. 148,224, dated March 3, 1874, in which a socketis secured to the under side of the axle for the reception of the rearend of a bent pole. Such a construction of parts is essentially diderentfrom that here claimed, because it involves the use of a special form ofpole which, furthermore, is liable to twist at its inner end owing toits crank-like form.

We claim as our invention 1. The combination with the front axle and thesplinter-bar rigidly secured thereto and carrying a pole-strap, of apole-socket arranged in front of and above the front axle and in linewith the pole-strap on the splinterbar and provided with downwardly andrearwardly diverging arms which are rigidly secured to the axle,wherebyan ordinary straight pole can be arranged in said strap and socket,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the front axle and the splinter-bar rigidlysecured thereto and carrying a pole-strap, the bolster, the fifthwheeland king-bolt, of a pole-socket arranged in front of and above the frontaxle and in line with the pole-strap on the splinter-bar and providedwith downwardly-extending arms which are rigidly secured to the axle andwith a central brace which extends rear-' ward and is connected with theking-bolt above the bolster, substantially as set forth. 3. Thecombination with the front axle and the splinter-bar arrangedtransversely in Witness our hands this 15th day of September, 1897.

HENRY BRUN N. FRANK LONGTIN.

Witnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, THEO. L. PoPP.

